Dwelling in the Lord

Tonight my small group studied Psalm 90, and what I learned was awesome; I just had to share it with you guys right away. Go read it now, please, you'll get more out of this if you do.

Verse one states "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations."

This will be my theme for this entry.

Verses one and two focus on the fact that God's nature is eternal, or in the ESV, everlasting. Now read verses three through six. These focus on the fact that we, on the other hand, are not. We are quite temporal, in fact. This is a huge contrast. God is so everlasting that He isn't even inside of time. Before a system of time was created, God was there. Before the sun and the stars and the ocean, He was there. We flourish in the morning and fade by evening. A thousand years are like a day to God.

Fast forward to verse ten. We won't live much more than seventy or eighty years. A lot of our life has already passed away. How much longer do you have left? In light of this, read verse twelve. "Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." Why should we number our days? And what does wisdom have to do with anything? We are temporary, yet God is eternal, therefore, live the few days you have in a wise matter, that is in a way that is glorifying to God.

The point I want you to consider in light of this chapter is this: Are you dwelling in the Lord at all times? Or are you wasting your precious, precious time trying to do things all by yourself? What are you holding on to for dear life that you won't give to God? Bitterness? Anger? Envy? Lust? Why won't you give it to Him? Put your trust in Him; dwell in Him!

To dwell in God doesn't mean some of the time. It's all the time. I find myself dwelling in God for the small things, I know He can take care of those things, but sometimes for the bigger things, I tend to run away from the Lord's presence. Keep in mind that Moses wrote this. Remember what happened when the Israelites didn't dwell in the Lord? They ended up in the desert. This is what we do when we try to estrange ourselves from God, we wind up wandering around and suffering in the desert, when we belong with God.

God has been our dwelling place in all generations. Forever. Back when Moses lived and wrote this psalm, God was there. Long after you're gone, God will be there. God has proven Himself trustworthy more times than anyone could ever count. Never once has He failed. Why then, in light of this information, are we still so terrified of trusting God with our problems?

I challenge you this week to wrestle with the things that you're holding from God. Assess the following: What are you keeping from Him? Why are you holding it? How can you let it go? Who can you get to hold you accountable to this?

Nothing in your life is too big for God to handle. Dwell in Him, He will give you rest and peace, but only if you let Him.